RUSSIA BEGINS AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA

Russia began airstrikes in Syria near the city of Homs, a U.S. official told multiple outlets Wednesday. The strikes come just hours after Russian Parliament voted to allow President Vladimir Putin to send troops to Syria and marks a significant escalation in the fight for control over the Middle Eastern country.

The move means both Russian and American airpower will be conducting airstrikes in Syria, despite the two world powers not necessarily agreeing on a long term strategy for the nation’s future. Both countries want to decimate the Islamic State (ISIS) group, which controls large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. But Russia also hopes to support longtime ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Assad must leave power as part of an “orderly transition,” though leaders have avoided direct efforts to overthrow him.

Sergei Ivanov, chief of Putin’s administration, said the effort was necessary “not in order to achieve some foreign policy goals” but “in order to defend Russia’s national interests,” the Associated Press reported.

The strikes come shortly after Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed Syria at the United Nations General Assembly. At the meeting, Putin said he was open to air strikes.

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